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June 26 is International Day Against Drug Abuse; TASC Hosts Caribbean Delegation Visit of Model Justice Interventions

Jun 25, 2018

(Chicago) — To promote an international society free of drug abuse, June 26 is designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. As an active partner with national and international bodies committed to reducing substance use disorders and their consequences, TASC has been recognized as a model for advancing collaborative strategies to divert people with substance use disorders away from the justice system and into treatment and recovery in the community.

Most recently, in collaboration with criminal justice partners in Cook County, TASC hosted a delegation of high-level justice and health officials from Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, who visited Chicago June 11-12 to explore innovative practices in implementing alternatives to incarceration.

As part of the OAS, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) provides technical assistance to OAS member states in the implementation of alternatives to incarceration. For the June visit, CICAD partnered in Chicago with TASC, and in New York with the Center for Court Innovation (CCI), both of which have earned recognition for designing, implementing, and promoting alternatives to incarceration.

In Cook County, the formal visit featured meetings with several justice leaders and dignitaries, including segments at the Cook County Jail with Sheriff Tom Dart; at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building with Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division LeRoy K. Martin Jr., Associate Judge James B. Linn, and Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli; and at the Chicago Police Department with 11th District Commander Kevin Johnson. The delegation also visited TASC’s Supportive Release Center near the jail, which offers an overnight stay and linkage to services for individuals with complex needs, and later met U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL), champion of the landmark Second Chance Act.

Throughout the two-day visit to Cook County, discussions focused on diversion strategies, including care coordination and embedded case management, that guide men and women who have substance use disorders away from the justice system and into community-based treatment.

Ambassador Adam Namm, Executive Secretary of the OAS, led the Caribbean delegation visit to TASC and alternative-to-incarceration programs in Cook County, Illinois.

“Because TASC is baked into the criminal justice system in Illinois, the justice system presents a more human face—with a focus on the individual—and promotes public health and human rights,” said Ambassador Adam Namm, Executive Secretary of the OAS, who led the Caribbean delegation. “That is exactly what the OAS promotes as an organization. So there’s great synergy.”

“We are grateful to the support of the U.S. State Department’s INL, to OAS/CICAD, and to Global Affairs Canada for making important international exchanges like this possible,” said TASC President Pam Rodriguez. “With thanks to our justice system partners, Cook County continues to be a model nationally and internationally, and we are glad to be able to help show the value and breadth of these collaborative efforts.”

For more than two decades, TASC has worked with federal and international partners to promote community-based systems of addiction recovery around the world. Among these activities, and through the leadership and support of INL, TASC has offered curriculum development and week-long training events provided by TASC teams in South Africa, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.